A month after slapping bright red and yellow cancer warnings on bottles of wine, vodka and other tipple late last year, workers at the government-run liquor store in Whitehorse, Canada, took them all off again.

“Alcohol can cause cancer,” read the labels, part of a government-funded pilot program. They quickly drew phone calls and letters from representatives of some of the world’s biggest booze makers, who complained that the Yukon government had overstepped.